Pistol Pete at the Museum

This fall the Stillwater History Museum at the Sheerar will be turning the pages of history to often untold stories.  To get you into the Homecoming spirit, Lillie Solomon and her daughter Annette Shamas will be joining us at the museum on Sunday, October 14th at 2:00 pm. They will share stories of Lillie’s 44 year history of working to the keep the Pistol Pete Mascot heads looking their best.  The pair will share stories and photographs of how all this magic happened.  On November 11th at 2:00 pm in the Sheerar Center, the Payne County Historical Society will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I with a talk by Mary Jane Warde.

November also marks the 90th anniversary of the Sheerar Center, built in 1928 as the First Christian Scientist Church. This building has served as the Sheerar Center since 1972 and, like all 90 year old buildings, it is starting to show its age.  In order to continue to protect and preserve Stillwater’s unique history, the Stillwater Museum Association Board of Trustees is always looking for interesting fundraising ideas. 

Last year the museum’s Board of Trustees undertook a new fundraising effort to help share Stillwater’s past, while preserving its history for the future.  Nancy Beckstrom, SMA Board Member, brought an example of another organization’s Datebook fundraiser to a board meeting, and slowly the idea started to move. The 2018 Datebook publication was the first planner created to commemorate Stillwater’s history.  This limited edition publication included stories and photographs from many Stillwater families, businesses and community groups.  

The fundraiser was such a success that the board decided to make this year’s book even better. The 2019 edition includes great stories from Hideaway Pizza, Lee Glass and Window, First United Methodist Church and many more.  In total the publication includes thirty pages of unique Stillwater history and provided useful calendar and notes pages.  This year’s publication was designed by Mark Pennie, of Pennie Works Studio, and Kay Keys and Nancy Beckstrom were the primary editors of the publication.

The books are currently on sale to the public at the museum for $20.00 each and will be available until sold out.  These books make great Holiday gifts and we encourage you to shop early before they are gone.  The museum is located at 702 S. Duncan in the lower level of the Sheerar Center.

Originally published in the Stillwater Newspress.